Allow your employees to join distance learning programs – Prof Dovlo

Reverend Professor Elom Dovlo, deputy Director of the Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE) has called on employers to be flexible with employees who avail themselves to upgrade their academic status through distance learning.

He said such programs would inure to the benefit of not only their institutions but the entire society as the students would be still working full-time and at the same time participate in relevant programs that underpin the various facets of life.

Professor Dovlo, who said this during an interview with the GNA on a wide range of contemporary societal concerns, also used the opportunity to extend the seasonal greetings to various stakeholders of the Institute and the general public.

He said the distance learning program which begun five years ago has graduated about 700 students with parity performance to the students of the main and regular stream on campus.

Professor Dovlo said the only difference between the two streams was the break period, and when the main campus breaks for vacations, that is when activities at the ICDE intensifies adding that the current range of programs being offered include Social Work, History, Geography and Natural Resource, Sociology, Linguistics and Adult Education.

He said the Institute is currently preparing to offer courses in some science subjects including Nursing.

Professor Dovlo said though the program is essentially a distant one, there is a vibrant student association where concerns of the students are deliberated to enhance inter-student connectivity which is part of every university life.

He said with the Institutes gender focus and mode of study, many current students include married women, business women and several others whose family and other social commitments would not permit them to undertake full-time studies.

Professor Dovlo said the mode of study has also ensured that a wide array of mature students and workers, can stay in their work places and still possess a University of Ghana degree without asking for a study leave for three or four years.

He said the current crop of students also includes a large number of senior secondary certificate holders who in spite of their good aggregates could not gain admission to the main stream due to the high cut-off point and limited space.

“We are working towards creating very interesting program combinations for our students and this would not be even available to the main stream students,” Professor Dovlo said.